Artistic Director Ryan James Brandau will lead the award winning Monmouth Civic Chorus in a season of reimagined performances and choral experiences, beginning with a multimedia version of the chorus’s annual holiday concert.
To kick off the season, the chorus will premiere “Joy to the World: From Our Homes to Yours” on Dec. 20 at 4 p.m., according to a press release.
In the tradition of the chorus’ traditional performances at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, but this year to be held online, Brandau intertwines his original settings of holiday favorites with traditional carols, poetry, and more, from “Silent Night” to “Auld Lang Syne,” according to the press release.
Rehearsals for the program take place weekly via Zoom, with dozens of singers tuning in from home, learning and adapting as they go. The virtual performance will include audio and video tracks recorded individually and edited together into a seamless whole.
The chorus will offer a second virtual performance in March, with further details of the season to be released as soon as changing conditions permit, according to the press release.
From time to time throughout the season, patrons will have the opportunity to join the chorus behind the scenes for sing-alongs of larger works such as Brahms’ “A German Requiem,” Bach’s “Mass in B minor” and Handel’s “Messiah.”
“To be sure, this season presents unique challenges for choral singing,” Brandau said. “But we are finding it also presents unique opportunities to hone and expand our skills, to strengthen our community, and most importantly, to persist in bringing some measure of joy to the world when joy is needed most.”
The chorus will offer “Joy to the World: From Our Homes to Yours” free of charge. To help defray ongoing expenses, the chorus welcomes tax deductible donations at wwww.monmouthcivicchorus.org
The chorus is the recipient of the 2008 ASCAP/Chorus America Alice Parker Award, the 2010 Spinnaker Award for Arts and Culture from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, and a third place winner of the 2018-19 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music, according to the press release.